Page 110 of Night Prey
Gerard frowns. “Shall I prepare another room for your familiar?”
Igor looks over his shoulder. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Are you sure?” Vaughn pipes up. “I’ve experienced firsthand Tish’s savagery. Ten-ten, don’t recommend.”
Igor glances at Tish briefly. “I’m sure I can deal with her if she gets out of hand.”
“You wish,” Tish replies, but she seems relaxed, so I don’t worry too much.
“See you later, then,” I say as I close the door.
Gerard turns to us. “Do you need anything before I retire for the day?”
“I’m good.” Vaughn glances at me. “And you?”
Butterflies awaken, and he’s not even doing anything. “Yeah, I’m good too.”
“Very well. Have a good rest.” Gerard turns on his heels and walks away.
Vaughn takes my hand. “Come on. My room is two doors down the hallway.”
I let him steer me in silence. I’m suddenly nervous to be alone with him again. Not that I fear him. I fear myself. I don’t know if I’m over getting triggered, and I’d hate to have an episode under Lucca’s roof.
Vaughn opens his door with a flourish of his arm. “Welcome to my fortress of solitude.”
“Your what?”
He shakes his head. “I’ll add comics to the list of things you must become familiar with.”
“Must?” I lift one brow.
His cheeks turn pink as he rubs the back of his head. “Well… you don’t have to like all the things I do, but I still want to share them with you. You can totally share your passions with me.”
I rise onto my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. “I’d love to know everything about you. Starting with your bedroom.”
I walk in and let my eyes explore the space. The walls are painted light gray, and the furniture is all dark wood but modern. Vaughn has posters of rock bands in sleek black frames hanging from the walls, which adds pops of color to the room.
He walks over to the closest poster and says, “This is my band. Nocturnal.”
“Oh.” I stop next to him and look at the picture.
I see Vivi front and center, singing, and Vaughn standing on the left side of the stage, focused on his guitar. There’s a guy with shoulder-length red hair to the right of the stage, playing guitar, and a redheaded girl playing the drums.
“Who are they?”
“That’s Cheryl and Karl. They’re siblings if you couldn’t tell.”
“Human?”
Vaughn looks at me. “No. Wolf shifters. Karl is also Manu’s familiar, and Cheryl is a hybrid.”
“I don’t understand. What’s a hybrid?”
“A wolf shifter and a vampire.”
My eyes widen. “Oh my God. I didn’t know that was possible. So does that mean she was sired?”
“Yep.” He nods.
